Everyone has a different "wake up" ritual. My father, who is almost always the first up, brews a pot of coffee (that honestly looks like really weak tea), and sits on the back deck and watches the dogs play as his wake up ritual. My mother isn't nearly so chipper- she wakes up and sits in the darkest corner she can find with a cup of coffee and at least five Marlboros. While this happens, she will not speak. Ever. And you better not speak to her either. A friend of mine wakes up and goes to the gym in his pajamas- at 4:30 in the morning. And so on- the point being that everyone has their own thing to do to wake up.
My days start this way: I open my eyes and stay perfectly still for about ten minutes. My dogs somehow know the difference between "awake" and "asleep" movements, and I want a minute for me. Then, I'll look down at my feet on the right side, and inevitably, my littlest dog, Skittles, is awake also, her big brown eyes all a-sparkle and tail a-wagging. She army crawls- she knows how important it is not to wake up the bigger dogs too- up to the crook of my arm. I scratch her back profusely- her favorite scratch place- and then she rolls over so I can do her belly too, and she munches on her two front feet. By this time, the other two have been alerted that I am definitely awake. Little Boy comes first, and he stretches out the length of me (literally) and kneads at whatever body part he can find, and I scratch him down. Lilly, who sleeps at my back, flops her big head over my hip and waits for a while until she's had enough of being patient. Then, she slithers on over, knocking everyone out of the way. She lays down on the opposite side of me and rolls over for her belly rub, which I receive numerous soft lick-kisses for. When I'm done, I say "Okay, that's it! Lets go outside", and like a flash they're all at the backdoor ready to go do their thing.
Is there any better way to start the day than with unconditional love?
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